Tens of thousands of tarantulas are emerging from their burrows across the southwestern United States as the annual mating season gets under way. Experts say the phenomenon, while startling, poses little danger to humans.
The spiders have already been spotted in Texas, with the Austin American-Statesman reporting a full-flung mating season in South Texas grasslands and deserts. More states, including California, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico, can expect an influx from October through November.
In Colorado, tarantulas are a major attraction. La Junta municipality advises visitors to look for them an hour before dusk from mid-September to October around the Comanche National Grassland. National Forest Service employee Lyn Neve told Denver 7 last year that they counted as many as 50 tarantulas in an hour and a half crossing roads and highways.
Of the 29 tarantula species in the US, most reach only about 4.5 inches in diameter. The males are the ones seen above ground; females are described by the National Park Service as "basically homebodies". Males may live up to 10 years, but females can live for a quarter of a century.
Despite their size, tarantulas rarely bite, and the bite is comparable to a bee sting. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomology specialist Wizzie Brown said they can be grumpy when handled but typically only bite if provoked. She advises people to look at them and appreciate them but not to handle them in the wild.
